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“We need to change this s---ty situation. We didn't expect this result. It could have even been worse. We weren't able to react,” Lionel Messi said after Thursday’s match, summing up their loss to Brazil as well as anyone could.
Judging by their recent form and the fact that Brazil never lost a World Cup Qualifiers match at home, it would be no stretch to predict a draw or a win against Argentina.
Nevertheless, not even the most hopeful of Brazilian fans would’ve predicted winning in the fashion they did.
Tite and his men were successful in purging the 7-1 ghost from the Mineirao with a 3-0 victory over the fiercest rivals, which earned the Brazilian manager a barrage of memes and even some votes to become Brazil’s next president in 2018.
On the other hand, Argentina’s performance was far from what is expected of the first-ranked team in the world. And a great deal of blame for that has to fall on Edgardo Bauza. Despite the 2-0 deficit at the half, Argentina was still in the game. They controlled most of the possession and even gave Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson a couple of scares in the first half.
But it all went downhill after the break, as Bauza decided to sack the catalyst of the sporadic chances his team was managing to create. He took out Enzo Perez to shove another striker, Sergio Aguero, up front. The problem was that Perez was the only man surprising the Brazilian defense as he found a hole to operate in between Neymar and Marcelo.
Angel Di Maria’s name was barely heard throughout the match, and Lionel Messi couldn’t touch the ball without three Brazilians swarming him.
Bauza’s move proved to be the nail in Argentina’s coffin as Brazil dominated the second half.
For the home team, this win served as proof that their rise under Tite was no fluke. Their defense has only conceded one goal in five matches. Their midfield is solid with Renato Augusto dictating the flow of the games and Paulinho appearing as a surprise factor to support the attack. And one can only praise the attacking trio of Neymar, Gabriel Jesus, and Philippe Coutinho.
The three goals Brazil scored against Argentina portray very well what that trio can do when they are in sync.
First, a touch of genius from Neymar opened way for that right-leg-cannon Liverpool fans love so much to open the score as Coutinho made it 1-0.
GOOOLLLLLAAAAZZZZOOOOO de @Phil_Coutinho, tremendo zapatazo al ángulo que pone a ganar a @CBF_Futebol #EliminatoriasCONMEBOL pic.twitter.com/wbGrQSFjmU
— beIN SPORTS Español (@ESbeINSPORTS) November 11, 2016
The second goal came when Gabriel Jesus manhandled his soon-to-be teammate Nicolas Otamendi and assisted Neymar.
GOOOOOOOLLLLL de @Neymarjr, goooooool de @CBF_Futebol de un saque de banda se creó el segundo del local #EliminatoriasCONMEBOL pic.twitter.com/MVs2VxSZw7
— beIN SPORTS Español (@ESbeINSPORTS) November 11, 2016
The third one came from the linkup between two midfielders as Renato Augusto assisted Paulinho to close the deal.
¡Goooooooooool! Llegó el tercero de @cbf_futebol, gooool de @Paulinhop8 y ya es goleada #EliminatoriasCONMEBOL pic.twitter.com/sTtD1hybEP
— beIN SPORTS Español (@ESbeINSPORTS) November 11, 2016
It’s hard to tell for how long they can keep this up, but a good meter of how different this Brazil team is from the team that played under Dunga is Neymar’s form.
Under the former manager, Neymar played three qualifiers matches, scoring no goals and dishing one assist. With Tite, he's almost an entirely different player. In four games, the Barcelona winger has scored four goals (one in each match) and tallied five assists.
It also doesn't hurt to remind that the substitutes for Brazil's front trio would also make up a hellish trio of their own. Just imagine your team having to stop Douglas Costa, Willian, and Roberto Firmino.
Next up for the Selecao is a trip to Lima, and a chance to get some revenge against Peru after the elimination in last year’s Copa America.
For Argentina, the next challenge will be playing host to Colombia, in a match that could very well cost Bauza his job.
